What Makes a Visualization Memorable?

Abstract

Fig. 1. Left:The top twelve overall most memorable visualizations from our experiment (most to least memorable from top left to bottom right). Middle: The top twelve most memorable visualizations from our experiment when visualizations containing human recognizable cartoons or images are removed (most to least memorable from top left to bottom right). Right: The twelve least memorable visualizations from our experiment (most to least memorable from top left to bottom right).Abstract-An ongoing debate in the Visualization community concerns the role that visualization types play in data understanding. In human cognition, understanding and memorability are intertwined. As a first step towards being able to ask questions about impact and effectiveness, here we ask: "What makes a visualization memorable?" We ran the largest scale visualization study to date using 2,070 single-panel visualizations, categorized with visualization type (e.g., bar chart, line graph, etc.), collected from news media sites, government reports, scientific journals, and infographic sources. Each visualization was annotated with additional attributes, including ratings for data-ink ratios and visual densities. Using Amazon's Mechanical Turk, we collected memorability scores for hundreds of these visualizations, and discovered that observers are consistent in which visualizations they find memorable and forgettable. We find intuitive results (e.g., attributes like color and the inclusion of a human recognizable object enhance memorability) and less intuitive results (e.g., common graphs are less memorable than unique visualization types). Altogether our findings suggest that quantifying memorability is a general metric of the utility of information, an essential step towards determining how to design effective visualizations.

An Investigation Through Content Analysis in Infographics

“…The most cited documents in infographics were related to the research category of 'observation' (Borkin et al, 2013;n=54), focusing on how visualized information can be effectively designed and how data visualization could improve memorization. The second research document that obtained the most citations was "Influence of the mode of graphical representation on the perception of product aesthetic and emotional features" (Ramírez et al, 2008;n=29), which concentrates on the influence of infographic representation on learning.…”

Conceptualising Inspiration Networks in Game Design

“…A visual representation of a network has an effect on human audience and induce appreciation (Judelman 2004), provides hints and reference (Holmquist and Skog 2003;Manovich 2011) and it supports the process of data analysis (Keim 2002;Stasko et al 2008). The aesthetics of the network drawing could aid in understanding of sequential events (Twidale and Nichols 1996), reinforce memorability (Borkin et al 2013), and uplift the potential for interdisciplinary works (Samsel 2013). To make the process more accessible to researchers and analysts, many have continued to maintain an initiative in the area of network visualisation software (e.g.…”

Advancing Virtual Patient Simulations and Experiential Learning with InterPLAY: Examining How Theory Informs Design and Design Informs Theory.

“…Findings from neurophysiological studies of human imagination that motivate InterPLAY suggest that (a) on-going emulations of cause and effect relationships mediate human behavior and decision-making (Colder, 2015); (b) imaging task performance enhances memory and our ability to complete the task (Borkin et al, 2013); and (c) if we can't imagine ourselves performing a task, our chances of engaging in and successfully completing the task are slim (Madan & Singhal, 2014;Tia et al, 2010). integration of story (characters, worlds, and events), play (stimulus, response, and consequences), and game (goals, rules and tools) with three principles of experiential learning described by Lindsey and Berger (2009) (i.e., framing, activating and reflecting on the experience) to enhance learner engagement, and the design of memorable and meaningful learning experiences.…”